Vince Of Fordham's New Girl Would Be Hardpressed to Pick a More Dangerous Spot for Fledglings

Photo by Chris Lyons

Here is the new nest of Vince of the Fordham University Campus in the Bronx/NYBG and his New Girl.

The nest is over looking a street, as most building nests in NYC are.

This one does have a little railing to help keep the nest intact which is nice.

 Photo by Chris Lyons
What isn't nice is what the fledglings will have to clear before they get to a real tree or other green space of any note.

Photo by Chris Lyons

 Here is a note from a very concerned Chris Lyons who photographed the nest site and who has been a chief watcher this area's hawks in the Bronx for many years.

 

I hope this gives you some idea of the situation--these are all taken from inside the campus--the nest is at the far upper right-hand window of that apartment building with the fake columns on the top floor.   It's six stories up.  To safely fledge, the eyasses would have to reach this large oak on the other side of Webster--if they undershoot, they're on the street, and if they overshoot, they're on the Metro North tracks, with no way for anybody to reach them quickly.  If they end up on the ground, in the tiny sliver of parkland between Webster and the tracks--well--people who hang out there are mainly nice, but probably know nothing about hawks.  On my way to lunch, I often see this guy exercising his three playful energetic pit bulls there.  Maybe they'd just be curious if they saw a young hawk on the grass, but curiosity doesn't just kill cats.    

In one picture, you can see a bit of a tail sticking up, but I have not seen much activity thus far. (Photo directly above,tail is center in nest. DB) Most of the time, you can't see a hawk--I will explore other viewing options later on. 

So it's still weeks before we know if the eggs will hatch.  It occurs to me that if the female really likes this nest, she may not be deterred by the eggs not hatching--like all those failed attempts on 5th Ave.   My hope is that the eggs do hatch, and that it can then be arranged for the eyasses to be removed, and possibly re-released on the campus, where the parents could find them.  The NYBG probably wouldn't be a good idea, since the Great Horned Owls are there (well, one of them, and she's probably none too fond of Red-tails right about now).  

Chris is right about the NYBG not being the best option, particularly as I've gotten word that there is a male to go with the female GHO nesting there these days.

Red-tailed Hawk parents do find fledglings who "magically"
appear begging heartily in unexpected places.

"Ziggy", the fledgling of Charlotte and Pale Male Jr, who had originally been grounded on a city street during morning rush hour, was "found" by her parents after being placed in Central Park after a two week sojourn with the rehabbing Horvaths.
 
Donegal Browne 

FAREWELL TO BEAUTIFUL FIERCE ROSE OF FORDHAM

 Photo courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/   
 Pale Male patrols his territory late in the day,  Sunday.  
 
Chris Lyon has continued the search for Rose of Fordham to no avail though he has been in contact with some birders in the NYBG who have some possibly relevant information.   

Stranger and stranger...here is the birders' report--

Last week we found the GHO nest. The female is very visible. In the 3 past years Junior Owl male has mated, he ALWAYS sat outside the nest guarding and watching. I have not been able to locate him in approximately 4-5 weeks. I assumed when they nested he was with her but now that we found the nest we cannot find him. Many birders looked. No Junior male owl. How long has Rose been missing? She was the owl that "jumped" Junior that day when harassing him with her Alpha son.
Could it be Rose and Junior had it out with no winner?
I saw Vince yesterday- looking lost.

Chris Lyons response-


Possible--I haven't spotted Rose in about six weeks or so, since I saw her engaged in courtship flights over on the campus.   Even though GHO's tend to be proportionately stronger than RT's, Rose might have had enough of a size advantage to even the scales.  Maybe they engaged at twilight or dusk, where light conditions wouldn't favor either combatant.   Because he was timid during the day, she might have gotten overconfident, and come a bit too close.   Whoever won, it could easily have been a victory of the pyrrhic type.  

Maybe he'll still turn up, but it doesn't sound good--at this point, I see no hope at all of Rose showing up alive.  But where are the bodies?  Could any maintenance people have found them?   Of course, there are big raccoons in there who'd happily dispose of the spoils of war. 

 Chris forwarded the above.  And below find his note to me , 

Figured you'd want to hear about this.  Of course, it's still purely speculative, but that would be some coincidence.  

Red-tails and Great Horned's love the same types of habitat, and most of the time, they live in relative peace, because they work different shifts.  In Van Cortlandt Park, I have seen RT's confront GHO's in the daytime, and it's always a stand-off--the owls just hold their ground, and the hawks know better than to get too close--I have also found the body of a large immature RT near an active GHO nest, and that was no coincidence.   But immature hawks are less prudent than adults, and Rose was an exceptionally well-seasoned adult, so what could have happened here? 

Rose was in her prime, healthy, and fully in control of her territory--while a battle with a rival female of her own species is possible, I think she was too well-entrenched not to come out victorious in a conflict of that kind.  She seems to have been exceptionally aggressive towards Great Horned Owls, and got away with it for years--perhaps the willingness of the NYBG owls to put up with her harassment made her over-confident--and with a nesting mate to defend,  Junior would be less likely to tolerate her incursions.  Even a relatively small and meek Great Horned Owl is a Great Horned Owl--the most ferocious raptor in North America, able to kill animals many times its size.   It would really say something for how formidable Rose was if she managed to make a draw of it.  But without any physical evidence, we may never know.  

And my response to Chris...

 Thank you Chris.  Oh dear.  It's possible it is a coincidence I suppose, but it is very suspicious. Particularly as both were birds in residence for some years who have disappeared in a relatively similar time frame.  That doesn't make it fact by any stretch of the imagination but this scenario though sad is far better than if Rose had been poisoned.   Better to go out fighting in a blaze of glory, if one is a hawk, I would  think.  Particularly as it appears she had a definite issue with the Great Horned Owls.

 How is Great Horned Mom going to be able to incubate and feed her owlettes or even keep the eggs warm as she'll have to hunt if she is widowed.  Unless of course,  Mr GHO has found a very hidden spot to watch over things.

Poor Vince.  He's not yet given up and started to court a new female.  Which cements the fact that he doesn't know what happened to Rose either. He wouldn't though if she was off in GHO territory and he was guarding their territory closely as males are prone to do at this time of year.

If Vince takes a new mate, I'm assuming he will this season though a little late as there are always available mates in the floater population, and if Rose did meet her demise doing in the male GHO, she'll have given the gift of some GHO safety to Vince's offspring.

 I doubt very much that Rose's death was due to a female RTH.  Vince would have helped in the battle.  And having seen many an incursion into PM's, Tristan's and Norman's territories,  one RTH is no match for an experienced pair.  Besides in that case, Vince would know what happened to Rose and not be looking for her.

You are so right.  We may very well never know what happened to Rose with finality but at this point I fear too, that we must  bid her farewell.  She has left us her biological legacy of  many well raised human habituated young hawks to return to their natal areas when mature and continue to raise their families in our urban landscapes.

Rest in peace beautiful fierce courageous Rose.  We shall miss you.

 Rosie returns from a break on Monday and gives the window a stare as Bobby slowly leaves the three eggs.  

At dusk Bobby returned with a rat for Rosie.  She got off the bowl and left again leaving the rat behind.  

And Red-tail expert John Blakeman answers some questions in an article in Monday's Philadelphia Inquirer-

http://articles.philly.com/2013-03-31/news/38165591_1_della-micah-hawk-watchers-hawkaholics

All appears to be going well at the Franklin Institute nest of Mom and T2 also.  They also now have three eggs.

The number of eggs in a season ordinarily depends on the prey depth and the hawks ability to avail themselves of that prey.   The deeper the prey depth, and the better the hunter,  the higher the number of eggs.   

Within reason of course.  They aren't ducks.

Al Olsen reports that the Fifth Avenue nest is progressing nicely.

Isolde as is usual this time of year, is keeping close in the nest behind St. Andrew's elbow at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

Photo courtesy of Rob Schmunk,

Rob Schmunk has some lovely photos and updates on the new nest of the Red-tailed Pair at Central Park West and 92nd Street.  Take a look.   http://morningsidehawks.blogspot.com/


Donegal Browne

Pale Male and Octavia, The Search for Rose of Fordham Continues, Rare Cooperative RTH Behavior!

 
Photo courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/
 The ever industrious Pale Male is still twigging for the 927 Fifth Avenue nest.
 
 Photo courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/  Octavia has developed the sleepy eyed hormonal look of a sitting formel.

 Hawkwatcher Al Olsen reports that Octavia had to wait almost three minutes beside the nest bowl after a break for Pale Male to give up sitting the eggs and make his exit.  Though I, and no one else I know, have ever observed Pale Male feed his eyasses, one gets the idea he thinks that prodigious hunting is a better use of his time, he has always displayed a grand fondness for sitting on the eggs.

No one so far has reported that Octavia has had to give him a poke with her beak to get him out of the nest bowl, on occasion, Lola, a mate of many years, periodically did oust him off the eggs that way.

June 2007, Hawkeye and Rose of Fordham 

Rose of Fordham has still not been sighted by any of her watchers and things are beginning to look grim,.

   I did receive some fascinating behavioral information from a birdwatcher at the NYBG.  Rose was observed hunting with her son called the Alpha Son or Jr.  They also double teamed the Great Horned Owls at their nest site.    I know of only two instances in which two Red-tailed Hawks participated in team hunting and both of them were bonded pairs.  Making cooperative endeavors by a mother and son even more rare.

  Mama and Papa in the Bronx were observed hunting pigeons in tandem by Jeff Kollbrunner and I observed cooperative hunting in the County M rural pair.

From  NYBG Birdwatcher-

On two occasions I saw Rose and Jr (as we called him) harassing the Great Horned Owls. It was unique behavior as he would land on a branch and the male owl ( defending the nesting female) would go into defense mode - shouldering his wings and hissing. Then Rose would suddenly appear on a branch in back of male owl- cornering him. I have never observed RT act this way before.  

Since then I've observed Rose and Jr flying and perched together. I ID her by band, color pattern and size. Last year I saw them hunting in the same manor, one distracts the prey - while the other goes in for the kill. 

I haven't seen Jr in quite sometime either. [Last observed by NYBG Birdwatcher about four months ago. DB] He was very brazen and people tolerant often buzzing the tops of our heads as he flew by. 

I watched Junior on the Museum bldg nest.  He was very aggressive in the nest and first to fledge.  I am certain it was this young male that hunted with Rose. 

Rose's favorite place to perch was the Native Plant Garden. The Garden has done extensive construction. Maybe this drove her away.   

There is another garden volunteer that photographs RT all the time. I will contact her and see if she has captured  any pictures of Rose, lately. 

Fingers crossed.

Donegal Browne

Chris Lyons Continues the Search for Rose of Fordham

 
 The nest at Fordham with eyasses of a previous season. 

 Chris Lyons, who has watched Rose, first with her mate Hawkeye, and after Hawkeye's death by secondary rat poison, has watched she and her now mate, Vince, continues his search for the missing Rose.   

Chris wrote:
One of the people I contacted yesterday was Bobby Horvath, and he said he hadn't been notified about a female he banded having been found dead or ailing.   There's no guarantee that she'd be found if she died, or that the one who found her would know who to contact--but she is banded, and that may eventually yield information.  

 I'm hoping somebody will have seen her alive, but from what you say, that is sounding less likely.   Rich Fleisher hasn't seen her lately, but he hasn't had much chance to look.  He did see one hawk near the nest some days back, but that could have been Vince.  Over at the Botanical Garden, a sick hawk was found recently, but no mention of it being banded--I'm trying to get more info.  It will take some time. 
I would hate to think it was poison.   Call me a romantic, but I'd rather she died in fierce battle with a a rival female, or a Great Horned Owl, or got hit by lightning, or anything else, anything.   I hate it that we do this to them.  It's a bad way for them to die.  I don't even put out poison for the mice in our apartment anymore.   

 Chris, I completely and utterly concur.  According to STOP THE POISON activists  in NYC, there are numerous towns in California that have seen the light and outlawed rodenticides.  We all need to work to educate the public that sanitation is the only weapon that actually works to stop infestations of rodents.

And poisons are just not an option!  Particularly non-species specific poisons which injure or kill wildlife, pets, and even children every year.  That's too large a price to pay for being slovenly when a little care would nip burgeoning  rodent populations in the bud. 

Also, I received several emails from readers who are unfamiliar with the Fordham site.  Therefore, a few words about the Fordham Nest ... 

The Fordham site is likely the most fledgling friendly building nest in the city.  The overhang protects the hawks from a good bit of weather and trees as you can see, are within feet of the building.

Those handy trees at nest height, make the fledge of these eyasses far more similar to the fledgling environment of hawks in a non-urban nest while having  the shelter of a building to protect the family earlier in life.  


With a short flight hop, the youngsters can "branch" within the trees.  They rarely if ever get grounded and fly back and forth so frequently from the nest that it is difficult to tell whether the eyasses have already fledged or not as they so easily return to the nest.

More as it happens!

And don't forget the NYU HawkCam and chat are up...
 http://www.livestream.com/nyu_hawkcam
Donegal Browne 

Rose of Fordham May Be Missing!

 
 June 11, 2007- Rose of Fordham prepares a pigeon for one of her fledglings, who is doing a high wire act on a nearby pipe, in hopes of luring him back towards the nest.
 
 Initially he takes no notice being fascinated by his new surroundings.
 
 But then he sees Rose and the pigeon. And typical of a hungry eyass flies straight for her.   Rose has to beat a hasty retreat not to be knocked off the roof peak.  Her progeny looks surprised at her rapid exit.

FAST FORWARD

March 19, 2013-As I often do at this time of year, I emailed Chris Lyons one of the chief watchers of the Fordham Hawks, to check on how the resident hawks are doing--  Rose, the female of long standing, and Vince, the  tiercel that came into the territory when Hawkeye, Rose's mate of many years, died of poisoning several seasons ago.   And as they  do have two sites they've used, part of the big news every year is which site they will be using this season.

I was fully expecting that Rose and Vince would have chosen either their Fordham nest site which is their usual choice or as they have much less frequently done, taken up somewhat similar digs in the nearby Botanical Gardens.  And that they would be well on their way to yet another prolific season.

On March 20th Chris responded: Last I checked, all was well with Rose and Vince,  but I just got back from a trip, so I haven't had a chance to see if they're sticking with the old nest site.   Let me get back to you on that. 




Then, Chris Lyon's unsettling response written today, March 22nd...

I'm still trying to assess the situation--I saw Vince today (well, I saw an adult male Red-tailed Hawk who matched Vince's description), but I did not see Rose, and I did not see fresh pine boughs on the nest. I have not actually seen two Red-tails together on campus since I got back.   They were courting a few weeks back. 
Today, I saw Vince grab a half-eaten prey animal and fly around with it, and he would periodically emit these plaintive high-pitched calls.  As if he was waiting for Rose to show up and accept his offering.   And she didn't.  
I'm inquiring with a source at the Botanical Garden to see if maybe she's set up housekeeping there again, but I don't see why she would, since there's no construction going on near Collins Hall this year.   I also emailed Rich Fleisher, [The other chief watcher of Rose and Vince. DB] who hasn't put any new hawk pictures on his site since early February. 
I'm not assuming the worst, but I'm contemplating it.   I may be projecting, but Vince's behavior seemed agitated somehow--even worried.   Maybe he knows something's happened to Rose, and he's trying to attract a new mate before the breeding season ends.  That's not such a romantic interpretation, but it's just as poignant. 
She'd be around 11 or 12 years old now, assuming the nest on Creston Ave. was her first. 

My response--
 

Oh Chris, this doesn't sound good at all.  The behavior on Vince's part is reminiscent of  Pale Male's behavior when he couldn't find Lola.  He'd have food and call and call for her to come and get it.

If Rose is missing, and I can't think of any other reason that they wouldn't be together right now, I'd say that Vince doesn't know what happened to her and is still hoping to find her.

 Comparing Vince's behavior to some of Pale Male's, (PM has been through a good many mates in the last several years), it is only after he'd given up finding Lola that another female appeared in the territory.

 In the case when one of his later mates was poisoned, Pale Male had been attempting to get her to react to him by bringing food to a nearby tree and calling.  Eventually she fell from her perch dead.  Before long Pale Male had a new mate.  In my opinion he'd seen this mate dead, knew she was gone,  and therefore he then allowed himself to be courted.

The biological imperative takes over, and according to John Blakeman there is always a free floating non-mated group of Red-tails looking for an open spot in a territory ready to bond, particularly at this time of year.  If Rose really is gone, Vince will likely take a new mate in time to breed  this season. 

It will be so terribly sad if Rose too has disappeared like so many other well loved hawks of name in the last couple of years.

Do please keep us updated.
Best, D

I always try to look for all the possible causes of any given behavior.  This is stretching it but weirder things have happened.  Perhaps Chris is right and Rose has decided that she'd prefer The NY Botanical Gardens site this year.  Following that thought... perhaps Vince is attempting to convince her that Fordham would be better.

Wishful thinking on my part I'm afraid.   

When it comes to the nest site choice, the formel is the Queen of the World and the tiercel gets cracking making her choice the best nest he possibly can.

I'm still hoping all is well with Rose and Vince.   I'll let you know as soon as I know.   Stay tuned.

Donegal Browne 

Andromeda and Atlas, Rose and Vince, Pale Male and Zena's Rikki

Photo by Peter Richter

 This is Andromeda, the mate of Atlas who took over from Athena from she died of poisoning three years ago.  Andromeda is one of New York City's dark beauties.  In the time that  Andromeda has been Atlas' mate, she has produced 7 offspring.

All of Andromeda and Atlas' young have fledged for this season and are leading watchers a merry chase .

Next up word in from Chris Lyons a major watcher of Rose and Vince at the also prolific Fordham nest--

Found all three eyasses perched fairly low, a few hundred feet from the nest, quite close together (though not in the same tree), and all enjoying the shade on this very hot day. 

I don't know the fledge dates for any of them, but at least two were still up on Collins Hall earlier this week.  All seemed healthy, and a good thing they got off the nest ledge, which will probably be hot enough to fry the proverbial egg before long.  No sign of the parents. 
Chalk up another successful nesting season for Rose, whose winning streak is approaching legendary proportions.

Fledge dates are always a problem at Fordham because the fledglings have easy access to trees and rooftops from this nest. They can easily go on and off the nest at will, and they do- repeatedly.  This makes it very tough to tell when you see one go off this nest that it is actually the first time they've taken to their wings. 

Photo courtesy of palemale.com

Pale Male and Zena's Rikki surveys New York City from the roof .   What a brave new world to explore.

And a link from the NYTimes from long time Contributor Betty Jo MacDonald about houses made of whole trees.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/garden/05tree.html

 

Happy Hawking 

Donegal Browne

Pale Male, A Prairie Burn, County M Hawk, a Grumpy Cardinal, plus a Sandhill Crane, a Great Blue Heron and a Wild Turkey in Flight

             photo courtesy of palemale.com          
     Beautiful Pale Male looks at the camera.             

 Remember the Red-tailed pair who nested in the oak in the middle of a field off County Highway M in Wisconsin?  Well, they've still managed to hide their current nest from me but I did catch Mrs. M hunting from their old nest tree.  She of course recognized my car and took off before I could her picture perched.

  This male Cardinal menaces another in a male Cardinal brawl at Mud Lake. I say brawl but it was mostly about glaring and posturing.

     A Great Blue Heron Heads for His Night Roost

Dale Dean and Edie Baran of Landscape Restoration start the fire for the  burn of an oak savannah, in which the landowner's house complete with their big propane tank are smack in the middle.  All went well and the mistress of the house wasn't even bothered by smoke coming in her windows.  These folks really know what they're doing.

                                                          Photo by Edie Baran
    (How can you tell this is a photo op during my lunch?  I don't have my gloves on.)

 My apologies for the absence of posts the last few days.  For two days I worked very long days on prairie burns then came down with the flu.  


(Obviously I didn't get the flu from the prairie burns but rather from a cast member in the show in which I'm working as a vocal coach.)


My big excitement at the burns occurred when a stand of Common Reed,  Phragmites australis, that nasty tall invasive that often crowds out the native plants in wet areas given half a chance, went up in flash, leaving me looking at a 14 foot wall of fire.  Beyond setting a small patch of a nearby old cornfield on fire, that I with my flapper (the thing I'm holding above) and a guy with big boots stomping, managed to put out before it spread in the wrong direction.


Speaking of flappers, just how does that flap of rubber tool work anyway?  It can be used two ways.  If you've only got a small leader in the fire making it's way in a direction you don't like, you lay the flapper on it and press he rubber down with your booted foot.  If you've a somewhat bigger blaze that is a problem, you raise the flapper up high and bring it down with all your strength whacking the fire, which blows it out in that area.  And you keep doing it until it behaves or needs stronger measures


If the fire is blazing a bit higher yet but in a controllable line though starting in a bad direction a fire broom may be the answer.  This is a special broom that lives when not in use in a bucket of liquid, I assumed water, but upon thought might have had some additive in it, where it saturates.  When it is needed you pull it out and sweep whatever fuel is in front of the flames, such as debris in a cornfield or dead leaves back into the fire where it burns leaving the area in front of the flames less fuel to spread.


And if there is a bigger problem?  Everyone on the burn was told a height on their body, for me as I'm short a place a little above my knees where if a long flame line has taken a bad  turn, it's time to get yourself out of there, pick up the radio and call for the water truck.

I'd seen the resident Red-tails sky dancing earlier on the property then I spied their nest in a typical location of choice.  Rural Red-tailed Hawks like one of the highest trees available with a configuration that will hold a nest.  That way the nest has a view.  Not only can they see what might be coming at them, they can keep an eye on the territory and perhaps best of all while sitting a nest with not much to do but sit, they watch prey patterns for use later on while hunting.

   Photo D.B.                       A Wild Turkey in flight. 

By the way, that puff of smoke left of center is way back where I am with the camera. It isn't anywhere near the turkeys.



 Not to worry about the birds and animals during this burn, great areas of the habitat are saved and not burned by the slow moving fires every year.  Everybody just moved to those areas of the land which weren't affected for a little while and in many cases then moved right back.  Because of the early Spring there were many green spots that didn't really burn at all.  The fire dealt with the invasive woody stuff, such as Asiatic Honeysuckle and Buckthorn.



Next up from Richard Fleisher, a prof over in the Political Science Department at Fordham in the Bronx and a chief watcher of Rose and Vince--
Writing to let you know that one of my recent photos of the Hawks was selected by Popular Photography magazine as their photo of the day.  It is posted on their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/ popularphotography) and on their website (http://www.popphoto.com/ photo-of-the-day/04-02-2012).  This shot as well as other recent photos of Rose and Vince can be seen on my flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/profman_wildlife_photos/)

Rich


Congratulations Rich!  Great work and super publicity for urban hawks.  The more people who get to know Rose and Vice and love them, the safer all hawks are!

 The Sandhill Cranes have returned to Wisconsin and are busily finding mates if they need one plus nailing down their nest-sites.


 PROTECTING RAPTORS BROCHURE --For those who haven't had much luck convincing folks that immaculate  sanitation is the only real answer to rats, New York City Audubon has produced a brochure which names the kill-everything-including-your-hawk-child-or-dog poisons in hopes they may be avoided and those with less chance of secondary poisoning for those who just can't live without using rat poison.


Along with tips on sanitation, blocking rat entry to buildings, plus the recommendation that no poison at all be used from March through August when the parents become hunting maniacs to feed their young and inexperienced fledglings are doing their initial hunting.


The brochure may be ordered from NYC Audubon or you may download it online.


 http://www.nycaudubon.org/images/protecting%20raptors.pdf


Donegal Browne

Zena Over Nights Plus Vince and Rose of Fordham Take to the Nest

 Photo courtesy of palemale.com
The word from the Hawk Bench in Central Park, is that Zena, Pale Male's new mate, over nighted on Saturday, the 24th.  She likely laid an egg that day, but it is also possible she just had the feeling that it was time to "get situated" to lay an egg. 

 The incubation day count for the Fifth Avenue nest, starts on the first overnight but the span of days between that day and when hatching/feeding behavior is noted tends to run longer than the time frame noted in the literature for Red-tailed Hawks,   which is 28 to 35 days.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 Photographs of Rose (above) and Vince (below) by Chris Lyons, one of the chief watchers of the Fordham nest.
 

From Chris Lyons of Fordham-

I saw them [Rose and Vince] copulate Monday before last, but hadn't seen either of them on the nest until today, Wednesday,--a head briefly poked up over the rim of the nest--it was Vince, giving Rose a break from her incubation duties.  I found her perched on a tree on the other side of Martyr's Lawn, and got some photos.   Her banded leg was clearly visible. 

I believe this is Rose's ninth consecutive incubation--seven at Fordham, once over by St. James Park, once at the Botanical Garden.  All her known breeding attempts to date have been successful--the last one remarkably so, with four fledged young.   

 And here we have the plucky Vince, named for former Fordham student, Vince Lombardi.  Yes, the football coach who spent many winters in the snow of Green Bay, WI with the Green Bay Packers.  Note the signature relaxed tiercel pose seen in many a photograph of  Pale Male and also of Tristan, late of the Cathedral Church Nest of St. John the Divine.

 And why is Vince plucky?  Because upon his appearance after the demise of the beloved Hawkeye, and his bonding with Rose, Vince was often seen perching rather close and staring menacingly at the Great Horned Owl Dad who was guarding the family's nest cavity. 

And here we have the human habituated Vince turning round, prey in talons, with what could be construed as a questioning look, as in---And you want WHAT?

Donegal Browne

A HAWK SEASON OF DESPAIR- Four Gone in a Month

 Intrepid broods eggs.  Her three eyasses that season were accidentally poisoned on the nest by being fed a poisoned rat.

 Photo Donegal Browne

2011-Young Ginger Lima, recently deceased,  tends her eyasses fathered by Pale Male- photo courtesy of palemale.com

                
From Myisha Priest,  hawk watcher,  NYU professor,  and the host of a seminar that 

celebrated the wildlife of New York City --


                                    Donna,                                    
   I just read the news of Intrepid. Heartbroken. She was singular in her ability to persevere. Though I guess they all are, which is one of the reasons we love them. Remember when her beak was broken and she made it through the winter anyway?
  What a sad hawk season. Violet, Lima, the Southside hawk and now Intrepid. Yet they say that grief is the price we pay for love...
 I send wishes for peaceful rest for those who are gone, wishes for better times for those who are here, and kind thoughts to the hawks and the tender (and bruised) hearts of those who love them.

 Myisha your note is beautiful.  Thank you.  I am afraid that my heart, among many others, has been bruised very badly this time around.

There have been times of despair before for those who love and attempt to succor New York City's urban hawks but the last year, which includes the long drawn out travail of Violet due to  human failure, has been, I think, the darkest.

Though there is no proof and may never be, as the testing of the very common Red-tail Hawk for poison is low on the list of priorities for the financially strapped New York State Wildlife Pathology budget, the known evidence points to secondary poisoning as the cause of death in this  latest wave of unblemished beautifully feathered corpses.
 Poison is also arguably a possible vector in the disappearance of Pale Male's mate of many years, Lola.

Today I am at a loss as to what more we can do soon enough to help the now living survive.  For assuredly what we have done has not been enough to save those who are gone and my feeling is that only luck has allowed those who still live to continue their lives.

Education is slow.  Poison is fast.

If mature, city-savvy hawks such as Intrepid, and before her, Builder,  Athena, Hawkeye, Ginger Lima, and Lola to name a very few, have not found any clues to warn them away from the rats that killed them, there likely aren't any clues and the death toll will only continue. 

Can we find a strategy that works with the rapidity that poison does?   

Hawkeye of Fordham, mate of Rose and the father of many, many well fledged young died of poison.  Photo Donegal Browne

Photo Donegal Browne

Athena of the Triborough Bridge nest,  a mother for many seasons, died of  rodenticide secondary poisoning leaving a clutch of eggs.  Her mate Atlas attempted to hatch the eggs on his own, but with no one to hunt for him or spell him on the nest so he could leave to hunt and eat,  the eggs were sometimes unattended.  They never hatched.

 FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Yet Another Red-Tailed Hawk Found Dead

• By Noreen Malone

It hasn’t been a good late winter for New York’s red-tailed hawk population. The first big news came when the first lady of New York’s hawks — Pale Male’s latest love interest — was found dead. Shortly thereafter, the body of another unidentified red-tailed hawk was found in Central Park. There was also a young hawk found dead in the park, which was mostly ignored outside of hawk watching circles.  But now, yet another  bird, this one a Riverside Park resident, has bitten the dust, bringing the recent death toll up to four.

 READ MORE

 Intrepid, Riverside Mom hunts.  Before she died, she had outlived a mate and three eyasses who had all died of poison.                                                      Photo Donegal Browne

EDUCATE AND ORGANIZE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS ABOUT SANITATION, RATS,  SECONDARY POISONING AND WHAT THEY CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE RAPTORS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.

Thanks to Rachel Shriff for posting flyers about secondary poisoning and the dangers of second generation poisons in her Queens neighborhood.

In memory also of all the hawks unnamed, who have died of secondary poisoning and human negligence. 

Donegal Browne

John Blakeman on the Fordham Fab Four, and Pale Male Stuffs them Full

Photo courtesy of palemale.com
Pale Male nabs a large meaty pigeon at the Metropolitan Museum.

Photo courtesy of palemale.com
And Pale Male's hunting skill translates into extremely full crops for his young.

Photo by Richard Fleisher
REGARDING THE FORDHAM FAB FOUR FROM RED-TAIL EXPERT JOHN BLAKEMAN-

Donna,

I note with peculiar interest the Fordham Four. I've never encountered a Red-tail nest with 4 eyasses anywhere in the Midwest or East. These are sometimes reported in the West, where ample ground squirrel prey populations can provide the nutrition needed to produce 4 fertile eggs and to feed 4 eyasses to fledging.

Clearly, the Fordham Four indicate the very large prey populations in NYC, probably a combination of rats and pigeons. Rats alone may be the factor.

The colonization of urban areas by Red-tailed Hawks is not complete, I believe. As more and more of these hawks learn to uniquely exploit urban rat and pigeon populations hawk population densities will continue to elevate.

And no one, to my knowledge, is conducting a scintilla of proper field biology studies on any of this. It's still only street theater -- of the highest quality, but in the utter absence of any raptor science.

If I took an hour or two, I could lay out probably several dozen questions about all of this that need detailed study, particularly because urban RTH behaviors contrast so greatly with those in rural areas. For example, rural red-tails simply spend no time trying to pursue pigeons, even though many barns and farming operations have ample populations. Rural pigeons are simply too fast and alert to be captured by red-tails. Different story -- yet untold in proper detail -- in urban areas.

Still, I'm astounded at the Fordham Four. Until now, I would have predicted 3 as the effective upper limit of RTH broods in NYC. These urban hawks have proved me wrong once again, based upon what I know of the rural populations.

--John Blakeman

I too was astounded by Rose and Vince's ability to raise four eyasses in the first place particularly without any evident change in their behavior noted by observers.

For those unfamiliar with the Fordham nest, only those birds on the edge of ledge can be seen from the ground. Therefore all four of the eyasses would have to have stood on the edge at the same time in order to get a true count. It wasn't until Rich Fleisher was able to get a roof view from another building that the first foursome of eyasses in NYC hawkwatcher memory came to light.

I've not seen nor heard tell of four eyasses of near fledge age surviving in Wisconsin where one or two seems to consist a clutch. Whereas three had seemed to be the New York City limit previously.

I"d read in the literature that some pairs were observed in Alaska with five eyasses. It did not however mention what the main food source prey was for those particular nests.

I received a call from Hawk Bench fixture Stella Hamilton about what prey was going into Pale Male and Ginger Lima's nest.

Stella had promised herself that if Pale Male's nest ever had babies in it again, that she'd buy herself a birding scope. He did so she did. The Stella Scope is now frequently at the Hawk Bench set low on its tripod so even kids can get a good look.

Therefore using the Stella Scope, Ms. Hamilton has been keeping a close watch on what prey is being brought to the nest. And according to Stella the percentage of pigeon and other bird meals have far out stripped that of mammal, including the rats that make us bite our nails, as they might be poisoned.

Which is extremely good news. Even so keep your fingers crossed that a bad rat doesn't go up to the nest some day.

Happy Hawking!

Donegal Browne